Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1887-01-13
adxisory hoard he charged with che duty

many people are imprisoned who are not
of the criminal class, IL would be wise, just
and humane to pass law establishing a
ticket-of-leave system, to be guarded, or
course, with every possible restriction, to
| be operated much the same as in the state
| of Ohio, and when it is thought a prisoner
will reform IL given an opportunity. How
| ever connected with IL should be law
enacted that by a simple process the per
son can be apprehended and returned to
prison to serve out the balance of his SEN
| tence IL he violated his parole 1t is a great
pity that we have no really intermediate
| trade of prison where convicts not of the
criminal class can be kept separate from
this worst element.
The statute authorizing the foreclosure
OF real estate mortgages should be so
amended as to require personal service Of
a copy OF the notice on the owner of the
property. The governor also puts in a
plea for the railroads, which do work
cheaply and give support TO many men,
and hopes no legislation will be passed in
regard to them which will effect the pros
perity of the state.
The state troops are thoroughly armed
and equipped and the department. is out
of debt. No finer body of men is enrolled
In any state. The discipline in camp when
men are off duty can be improved The
military academy at Orchard Lake is COM
mended for its work and a law recon-
mended authorizing the executive to com
mission its graduates and those of the
military department of the agricultural
college as line officers of this state without
commission and without pay.
In my inaugural two years since l
recommended the abolition of the contract
labor system; when, at the closing
hours of the session of the legislature,
such bill was passed, after ma
ture thought l felt obliged to defeat the
measure and prevent it from becoming a
law. This was very humiliating to me for
the reason that had TO publicly confess
that my recommendation that such a law
| be passed was not we'll considered Since
that time have taken much pains to get
all the light possible upon the subject, and
the more / investigate the matter the
stronger are my convictions that the con-
tract system is the safest and ought TO
stand. There are but four conditions pos
sible to adopt for convicts These are the
contract system, the piece price system,
the state account system, and idleness. The
latter i am sure you will not consider for
a moment, as IL means solitary confine-
ment, degeneration and destruction. This
then, reduces the number to three. The
whole question resolves itself into this
alone-shall the state sell its prison labor,
thus Kidding itself of all financial response
billy and risk of loss with certainty as
to its income, or shall it so into business
on its own account with all its risk and
opportunity for bad management! The
product will be the same under either OF
the systems, and the consequent competi-
ton to honest labor necessarily the same.
Prison employees will guard the men, and
! mechanics superintend the work the same
as now. Then what will be the difference
None, so far as the care OF the men and
amount of their product Is concerned
The piece price system differs from the
contract system only that the state fur
nishss the labor and the contractor the
material. The competition to the outside
world is just the same as the contract
| system, only the state takes all the risk III
breakages and imperfect goods furnished
The state account system means al
ways an immense loss and sure
to be abandoned, in my opinion, by every
state, ultimately, which adopts it. III yoI
close out the contractors you can, perhaps
| purchase their machinery, but not thell
business. Their customers are their own
but not yours. You can find an army o
men who will be only too willing to worl
| for rich state, but where Will the re
sponsibility liei Then who is Co manag,
this business ii there is a change in the ad
ministSation, and, If the law retains tn,
warden during good behavior, who is ia
be the judge of such behaviori And, IL he
is incompetent or dishonest. who is going
to take his placei l tell you, gentlemen
no man can fill such a position be he never
so honest and capable; no man can super
intend business until he learns it from
the root up. Even were all this state &C
count successful, where is the competition
to honest toll to be changed.
Much is said concerning the ill-treatment
of prisoners; that they are overworked by
contractors, etc, etc. If this be true, the
warden alone is to be blamed as he anc
his keepers have entire charge of them
the contractors have nothing TO do con
corning their discipline. / confess to hav
ing no patience with people making sucf
charges.
Attention is called TO the Importance o.
urging on the government the improve
ment Of the Portage ship canals and to the
necessity of solving the question of immi
grafton; q memorial on the latter subject
is recommended asking that foreign-borr
paupers, criminals, insane and infirm bt
excluded. The immigration OF Chimes,
should be stopped and polygamy stranglec
now.
LuCE's INAUGURAL MESSAGE.
Gov Luce after few words of congrat
ulation, plunged first into the subject o
education, saying good word for the vari
Gus institutions of the state. The uni
versity board of regents ask for $4,000 tC
erect and equip microscopical and his
torical laboratory, and a physiological
laboratory, and laboratory for teaching
physics and natural philosophy. Another
purpose included in said amount is the es
Enlistment of the hygienic laboratory
recommended by the state board o
health. While the board of regents do no
urge this they indicate willingness t6
take charge of the same IL established
Should the latter object be thought mad
visable at the present time, the appropria
ton could be correspondingly reduced
without Gripping the first named objects
Congress made the munifcent grant o
100000 acres of land to the state for thu
maintenance of an agricultural college
where the mechanic arts and military tao
tics should be taught While the endow
ment fund from the sale of such lands i
sufficient to pay the current expenses o
the school, yet the rapid increase in the
attendance calls loudly for more room
While the board do not now ask for an ap
preparation for the following purpose, We
at some time in the near future facilitie
ought to be provided for the admission o
girls to this school.
The fear at one time entertained tina
the state public school system would prov
an asylum for grown-up boys and girls 1
now removed, and its character has be
come well established as the great distri
butor of our dependent waits and charac
teriZed by a foster patental devotion an,
watchfulness. The governor next proceed
ed to point out the needs Of the othe
state institutions
With a new asylum for the insane, re
Gently completed, with capacity for 80
patients, we are still confronted with tn,
fact that before the next legislative SEES
sion shall arrive there will be no room TO
the admission of patients in any of tn,
state asylums. Many of the patients ar,
harmless but incurable. The state owns
farm in connection with the asylum a
Kalamazoo, and the board of trustees ash
for an appropriation of s230OO to con
struct four houses on this farm that will
accommodate 100 patients. Sufiicien
room for this number of inmates in tn,
ordinary asylum would cost $l20,COO
Sound policy and wise economy induc
the governor to urge upon the legislator,
the propriety OF this appropriation.
The. institution for the deaf and duml
asks for $4,000 to purchase $50 acres o
land adjoining the institution. Some ad